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I spent a lot of time in the last year focusing on my health. It’s not simply that I want to lose weight, I want to feel good. I want a clearer, sharper mind so that I can take on big work projects that help change people’s lives. I want a body that will keep up with my busy life. I want to be an example to my children. I want to take care of myself so I can take care of my people (hello, H.E.A.R.T. goals in practice!). I’ll turn 40 this year and I want to feel stronger and better than I ever have!

A big part of my health journey was finding a diet program that worked for me. Enter FASTer Way to Fat Loss (FWTFL). I’m starting my third round next week and because I’ve gotten so many questions about this program, I wanted to answer a few of them here.

I went through the program twice last year and saw results both times. I lost 17 pounds in six weeks and felt absolutely amazing. When I’m following the principles of the program, I don’t feel deprived and I see results. What more could you ask for?

Now, let’s get to your questions and I’ll also share some tips if you want to try it yourself!

What is FASTer Way to Fat Loss?
FWTFL is a six-week program that uses carb cycling, intermittent fasting, and exercise to help you lose weight. When you sign up, you receive guides on workout routines, meal suggestions, access to private Facebook groups, and a workbook. Through the program, you’ll count your macronutrients and be instructed on carb cycling. This is a brand new way of thinking about what you’re consuming and it has truly transformed the way I make decisions about food. You can sign up for the next round of the program here.

Is FASTer Way to Fat Loss a keto (ketogenic) diet?
The short answer is no. FWTFL focuses on carb cycling, eating the right macros and nutrients, at specific times. Each day of the week has a designated carb intake level so some days are low carb days and other days are high carb days.

What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating style where you eat within a specific time frame and fast the remainder of the day. It has easily been my favorite part of this program. We’re programmed to think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I’ve always felt guilty about skipping breakfast in the past. When this program encouraged me to stop and think about intermittent fasting, something clicked. Plus, your willpower diminishes as the day goes on. It’s much easier to skip breakfast than to turn down a glass of wine at night (Can I get an amen?) I typically fast from 8 pm until noon the next day.

What about the workouts?I can’t tell you that I’ve found great success with the workouts because I simply haven’t been doing them. And yet, I still lost 17 pounds in six weeks! The FWTFL team has great, cardio and HIIT/metabolic training workouts that you can follow along with. I am hoping to add these to my routine this next round to see how they improve my results.

If you’re starting out on your FWTFL journey, here are some great tips and tools that have helped me see success on the program.

Make My Fitness Pal your friend. Download the free My Fitness Pal app and get comfortable using it to track your food intake. I upgraded to the paid program so that I could get a better gauge on my macros.

Keep healthy food options around the house. We can map out the perfect meal plan and exercise routine yet still make bad decisions when we don’t have access to the right foods or we have easy access to the wrong foods. I have found that keeping healthy, FWTFL friendly options around the house was the best way to combat pitfalls. Here are some of my family’s favorites:

Pecan butter – This is delicious on bread, fruit or straight out of the container on a spoon.

Lara Bars – I keep these in my purse and car as a great on-the-go option.

Prepare your closet. As I mentioned above, I don’t typically keep up with the workouts on FWTFL. That said, I find that if I lace up sneakers every day, I move more. Whether that’s taking a walking with my husband or playing with the kids, I’m more inclined to be on the move if I dress the part. I keep cute but comfortable clothes at the front of my closet so I can easily make good decisions when getting dressed in the morning. Cute because you feel better when you look better and comfortable to remove any excuse to not get moving. Here are a few pieces I’ve been loving lately:

Cute sneakers – These make me feel pulled together and ready to get to work at the same time. Plus, I get compliments every single time I wear them.

New Balance underwear – If you are like me, you need to be reminded that every few years it’s time to upgrade your underwear situation. This is your friendly reminder and these are a great option.

Terry Sweatshirt – Cute, comfy and affordable makes this sweatshirt a no brainer.

Drink all the water. Every diet, weight loss plan or healthy living guideline tells you to drink more water. Not to be a broken record, but you need to drink more water. I find that when I’m hydrated, all systems work better. Drinking water is a keystone habit that will aid success in any healthy living journey.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read up on the FWTFL program here.

That’s it! Any other FWTFL questions? I’ll be sharing my FWTFL journey over on Instagram. I’d love for you to follow along and join me!

My friend Meredith, who owns French Blue Designs, has been known to come up with some pretty brilliant stuff. These workbooks for kids were one of her ideas last year. I’m excited that she’s agreed to offer two of them for a giveaway! I snapped a couple of quick pictures so that you can see the books: Going Out Games and Driving Doodles. Sized perfectly to fit on a little lap in a car, and not so large that they take up a ton of space at the dinner table at a family night out on the town, these books are the perfect activity packs for little people! The Driving Doodles book features hangman pages, tic tac toe pages, and blank pages for anything that sparks creativity, and the Going Out Games features the alphabet with critters and cute things to color!

To enter, use the form below. You can tweet to win once a day, so be sure to come back to gain multiple entries! The giveaway is for one of each of the workbooks! Oh, and if you want to skip the giveaway and just order these directly, you can get them from Meredith’s Etsy store!

In the face of the attack of the stomach bug at our house last week, it was actually a pretty productive week. I deep-cleaned my closet, made several piles of clothes to give away, reorganized shoes, got rid of all those annoying wire hangers that seem to find their way into the closet, despite my futile attempts to annihilate them from our house. Christmas cards have turned into New Years cards, and are on their way out the door, little by little. I’m catching up on thank-you notes from Charley’s birth. The tree is decorated! I hope I can post some pictures later.

I’m excited for Christmas. It’s going to be a simple season for us: we haven’t done gifts for each other. I didn’t think that was an unheard of tradition, but several people looked astonished when I told them we were practicing the art of elimination this year. “But what about your kids?” Our kids will be fine. Our house is full enough with siblings for playmates, and we don’t have room for piles of toys, and what we do have room for, I’m sure our parents will find delight in giving them. On a second note, even though my kids are too young to understand the concept now, I want them to know the joy in giving to others, instead of just receiving. I think there is a neat family tradition to be born out of that.

I’m excited for 2013. Since we all survived the end of the world on Friday, I thought I had better remind all the slackers out there that they had better get on to goal-setting for 2013! I know several people have been hoping Santa will bring them a Day Designer, but if he somehow misses that memo, we’re offering 15% now through January 1, to offset some of the cost in case you need to upgrade shipping.

Our office is closed now through the first of the year. I’m going to hop in a day next week and process any orders that come in between now and then. Day Designers will be available while supplies last, and they are selling fast! In fact, if they keep selling at the rate they have been, we’ll be out by January 15th. That’s amazing, friends. I cannot thank you enough!

If you still want to try your hand at winning one, I thought it would be fun to run a final, year-end giveaway! I know we’re all running around getting Christmas in order, so the giveaway will run through January 1. I’m using Rafflecopter for the giveaway, so that means you can come back each day and gain another entry by tweeting about it again!a Rafflecopter giveaway